Land Transport officials urged taxi drivers on Tuesday December 2,  to foster better relationships with their clients amid an increase in taxi fares announced last week.

Speaking on Tuesday,  to explain the new fares, Patrick Andre, the principal traffic engineer in the Ministry of Tourism and Transport, said that although taxi charges have increased, drivers did not necessarily have to charge the maximum amount if they wanted to build a rapport with their customers.

The new rates, which were published in a supplement to last week’s Official Gazette, were changed to R19 for the first kilometre and R6.25 for every additional kilometre on Mahe.  On Praslin and La Digue the new rates are R22 for the first kilometre and R7.50 for each kilometre thereafter.

While on the surface the taxis appear to be obvious beneficiaries of the new rates, some drivers said they would have preferred the fares to stay put. 

One Praslin-based driver said that higher fares could obviously mean more revenue, but was worried that the fares would result in fewer clients.

Fewer customers for taxis, however, is not something Land Transport denied.

“I can say definitely that there will be a decrease in usage of taxis by locals,” Mr Andre said, noting that with the current situation in the country, many people have had to adjust to having less spending power in the first place.

But several taxi operators near Camion Hall said on Tuesday,  that efforts should be made to reduce their operating costs instead of increasing fares.  Drivers complained of difficulties getting spare parts, high licence fees and insurance rates.

One driver even ventured a guess that some 90 percent of taxi operators were against the new rates, while another said he would still take advantage of the new fares to cope with his expenditures.

In terms of baggage charges, Mr Andre said that the R5 fee for each piece of luggage has actually been in place for some time, but officials found that only between 30-40 percent of operators actually took advantage of such charges.

Mr Andre said the luggage fees were kept with the new fares to be applied at the discretion of the drivers themselves, even though he said they are encouraged not to charge extra for baggage.

Apart from fares, Mr Andre said that the new regulations also encompassed other changes.  A new code of conduct, enforceable by law, has been implemented, and stricter rules barring drivers from private dealings with establishments that host taxi ranks have also been adopted.

According to Mr Andre, the regulations will help prevent friction between drivers and present a healthier image for taxi drivers and the tourism establishments they frequent.

He also mentioned that starting next year, taxis would be required to have accurate meters on display for their clients.

But some drivers claimed on Tuesday,  that the meters were too expensive and faced problems acquiring the spares to repair them. 

Mr Andre acknowledged such difficulties, as currently Land Transport has more than 100 meters overseas waiting to be shipped once foreign exchange is allocated.  However, he also said that a recent survey carried out by Land Transport showed that more than 60 percent of meters in active taxis were actually working, meaning that some drivers were alleged to have hid them from sight for their own purposes.

Mr Andre said that a new task force, consisting of personnel from the police, the Seychelles Licensing Authority and the Taxi Operators Association, is being organised to help enforce the new regulations across all three islands.

LINKS